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Tomohiro Okumura Amendments to the Companies Act (Amendments) will come into force on May 1 2015, in which a new form of cash out will be included. Under the Amendments, the special controlling shareholder (a shareholder who holds nine-tenths or more of the voting power of all shareholders of the company) may demand that the other shareholders sell their shares of the company to the special controlling shareholder (a so-called demand for sale). By using a demand for sale, a shareholder who holds the majority vote may force minority shareholders out of the company. Conventionally, the method that is used for such a purpose is for the company to issue and acquire class shares by a resolution of the shareholders meeting. However, since this method necessitates the holding of a shareholders meeting, it is burdensome for a company.

Regulators' desire for greater market disclosure seems to intensify every year. More data, be it for the benefit of investors or the regulators themselves, seems to be viewed as a key way to prevent the errors of years gone by. On paper, it's a view that's hard to argue against. Transparency should enable better buyside decisions, greater market oversight, and more self-imposed discipline by those who may have been tempted to game the system. In reality, the obvious downside is the massive expense – to be borne by the industry alone – of setting up the necessary compliance, record-keeping and data-gathering systems.

India’s budget is only the beginning of some much-needed reforms

Y Shukie Grossman

The EBA and FSB may be pressured to relax limitations on the inclusion of senior unsubordinated debt in their latest capital initiatives

A Hong Kong tribunal started a preliminary hearing last month, involving a US short seller called Citron Research. So far, so standard: the practice of short selling itself has been a part of markets since the 1600s and Kong Hong has historically frowned upon it.

The lighter side of the past month in the world of financial law

Anna Pinedo Regulators and lawmakers in the US continue to review and consider measures that may promote capital formation for smaller and emerging companies. Although the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the US in 2014 reached highs not seen since the early 2000s, there are a few important observations. Companies continue to rely heavily on private financings and only pursue IPOs once they have attained a significant size or maturity. Often, institutional investors participate in private placements that almost serve as surrogates for traditional IPOs as the size of pre-public, later stage private placements has grown significantly. The median size of IPOs remains high – there are relatively few IPOs in which the offering proceeds are less than $100 million. This dynamic has resulted in a need to ensure that there are more liquidity opportunities for the holders of securities in privately held companies.

The European regulatory capital market continues to grow, but global and EU reforms are causing concern among investors and issuers

Foreign investment is the last piece of the Reit puzzle